Farmington Hills — Weight Watchers mogul Florine Mark had a closet Carrie Bradshaw could only dream of. It was a closet so large that it is currently being converted into four bedrooms.
A line stretched out the door of Mark's single-story suburban home in Farmington Hills Friday afternoon on the second day of a three-day estate sale a year after Mark's death. Hundreds waited in line to get the chance to peruse the sale and see how the iconic businesswoman lived.
"I just can't imagine that she actually wore all of these clothes and belts and shoes, and it's just a shame she wasn't more like a size eight instead of a four," joked Mary Weigele, 80, of Livonia, who brought her friend Kay Irwin, 79, from Northville along with her.
The pair waited in line for about 40 minutes Friday afternoon and were eyeing a tan Armani suit and enjoying the beautiful house. Weigele said she's been to estate sales in the past for fun, but hardly ever buys anything.
"If I saw something that I actually needed and would use, yeah, I would buy it," Weigele said. "The prices are amazingly low for the designer clothing."
Mark — a Detroit native, fitness influencer and former president and CEO of Weight Watchers Group Inc. — died in October 2023 at the age of 90. Le Shoppe Estate Sales owner Julie Sundberg said it took months to set up the event. Clothes and jewelry were by far the biggest sellers on Friday.
The entire first-floor living space was filled with racks of Giorgio Armani suits and tables of elaborate pins, necklaces, bracelets and earrings, while the walls were lined with works by Michigan artist Richard Jerzy. Her home exuded the air of an elegant department store or a museum.
Guests browsed the collection while admiring Mark's expansive wooden deck and pool overlooking the Franklin Hills Country Club golf course.
It was the first-ever estate sale for brother and sister Michael Solarz and Susan Rabinovitz.
"Florine Mark was an icon in the community, and we respected her a lot, and we just kind of found out about it and we don't live far from here," said Solarz, 72, of Franklin. "It's an amazing house. I think the paintings that are left are amazing. And we're kind of just wandering around the art, the clothing."
The pair wasn't looking for anything in particular, but rather waiting for something to catch their eye. They remembered Mark most as a philanthropist and trailblazer.
Equilla Carpenter-Stone, of Southfield, said she and her friend Caroline Peterson of Farmington Hills are estate sale regulars. Compared with others they had been to, though, Mark's sale was "breathtaking," Carpenter-Stone said, promising to return. She left Friday afternoon with shoes and a country-western-style shirt, while Peterson bought a purse.
"When you come, it's a lot to see. Outside the house doesn't look that large, but it's a large home," Peterson, 78, said. The pair said they had been at the home for hours looking through everything.
Mark was known for her glamorous style along with her business acumen. She once showed up at a kibbutz in Israel in a limousine wearing a fur coat and 5-inch heels.
Racks and racks were filled with her trademark blazers. Even the home's expansive basement was filled with dozens of pairs of shoes, more clothes, and the typical odds and ends one would find at an estate sale from crock pots to muffin tins to vintage tapestries.
